Baucau and back to Dili

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The bus dropped the four of us off on the main corner in Baucau, called out for new passengers and then noisily made its way off to Dili. Two of us sat with the bags while the other two crossed the road to look at the pink coloured Pousada de Baucau, the flashest hotel outside Dili or possibly in the whole country. The $75 per room (sleeps two, including air con and WiFi) was far beyond what we wanted to pay so we got a room for four at Hotel Tato (the colourful place on the corner, next to Posada de Baucau) for $15 a night each, including breakfast on their rooftop.

It was a quiet day and then we had dinner at the Pousada. Highly recommended for a splurge (food is still cheap with steak costing $10-12 but obviously it's expensive compared to local food), the steaks were cooked exactly as ordered and the presentation was flawless. Wine is hugely marked up, as with any restaurant. I later found the same wines at Qulina in Dili for a fraction of the cost.

After our Swiss travellers left the following morning, we moved to Hotel Melita (follow the road down with Hotel Tato on your left, away from town). Rooms with a fan are $30 and $35 with air con and hot water (both for two people and include breakfast). While I feel Tato was the cleaner and more modern of the two, Melita had a lovely, breezy area to sit and read or eat and watch the sunset.

We spent four nights in Baucau in the end. The public pool is a well spent few hours for 50c (from the roundabout near Tato, go down the hill where all the transport goes). They have a dive board, children's wading pool and tennis court in the lovely gardens. We also spent a lot of time wandering. Up the hill we found an open air church but couldn't tell if it was still in use. Great spot for sunset though. Hotel Victoria did good food and also had rooms for $10 but we found out on the last day and didn't look in them. Young adults wanted to sit and chat with us to practice their english (which as usual, was much better than they let on) and two young boys invited me to watch them - not join in! - playing pool (they would've beaten me anyway).

Buses and minibuses regularly make the trip back to Dili, departing near the main roundabout so you can leave whenever you want.

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Photos

Travelling by unganna
Five malais (foreigners), an extraordinary amount of bemused locals, a squealing pig in a sack, enough rice to feed an army and a speaker blaring bad pop music at ear level

Baucau pool
All this could be yours for just 50 cents. The pool is drained twice a week so hopefully you won't miss out!

Wooden goggles!
Made on Atauro Island, local fishermen still use these (though I didn't see anyone doing so)